Energy use and energy feedback - An evaluation of Sweden’s largest
energy saving experiment at E.ON
E.ON Sverige AB is now performing Sweden’s largest energy saving experiment to
see if its customers can reduce their electricity consumption just by visualizing it.
The experiment turns to 10 000 of E.ON’s customers, having an annual consumption
exceeding 10 000 kWh. Customers are equipped with a display, connected to the
smart meter, which shows the consumption in real time. Customers with smartphones
can also follow their consumption in their phones by using an application.
During the experiment the participants will be facing 5 different phases, with a
purpose to motivate savings in different ways.
Parallel with the experiment a... (More)

Energy use and energy feedback - An evaluation of Sweden’s largest
energy saving experiment at E.ON
E.ON Sverige AB is now performing Sweden’s largest energy saving experiment to
see if its customers can reduce their electricity consumption just by visualizing it.
The experiment turns to 10 000 of E.ON’s customers, having an annual consumption
exceeding 10 000 kWh. Customers are equipped with a display, connected to the
smart meter, which shows the consumption in real time. Customers with smartphones
can also follow their consumption in their phones by using an application.
During the experiment the participants will be facing 5 different phases, with a
purpose to motivate savings in different ways.
Parallel with the experiment a scientific study is taking place at the Department
of Energy Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University. The study is divided
into two Master´s thesis. The purpose of the study is to investigate if the energy
consumption in Swedish households can be affected by making it visual to its users.
For example, is it possible to make savings by setting up a target for the reduction?
This is the first of two reports with the purpose to give a theoretical platform for
the evaluation and also examine the preconditions and the participant’s comments
on the equipment. This report is divided in two parts.
The first part is a literature study that starts with the chapter about the use
of energy in small houses. Here is the direct and indirect energy use described in
four different function areas. The following chapter describes feedback related to
energy use and in which ways this can be given. Results from previous studies are
also presented showing that energy savings between 5 to 12 % is the most common.
There are also examples showing that savings up to 20 % are possible. Factors
affecting our behavior are described in the chapter about behavior change. A couple
of models used to explain behaviors are also presented in the same chapter. The
last chapter in the first part is about energy saving advices.
The second part of the report contains results from the two surveys that have
been made. The first one was distributed to the 7 457 participants that, by the time
of the survey, had installed the equipment. The rate of response was 65.6 %. The
main part of the respondents was male with a high interest for technology. They
v
vi
were also more interested in saving money instead of the environment. The few
females that participated thought that the environment was more important than
their interest for technology but saving money was the most important reason. Most
of the respondents thought that they had good knowledge of their consumption.
Despite that, 21 % answered that their consumption was lower than the limit of
minimum 10 000 kWh per year for participation in the experiment. The conclusion
that was made from this was that the participants overrated their own knowledge
and underrated the consumption. Most of the respondents put a lot of effort in
putting up their target for reducing energy. The mean value of the target for energy
reduction was 8 %, which they thought was something between easy and difficult.
The purpose of the second survey was to analyze the respondent’s thoughts
about the display. The survey was sent out to 9 859 and the rate of response was
30 %. One important conclusion was that the display was seen as a valuable tool for
energy savings. Respondent’s that use the display more than once per day was more
able to see that they could save electricity. They were also more convinced that they
would achieve their targets. The interest for further functions in the display was also
analyzed. The respondent’s thought that they should be able to see the difference
in consumption between today and yesterday. They also thought that the display
should show the consumption, day by day, during the last week. At the moment,
there is a relatively week interest in paying for the service but it will increase if the
service was working properly. (Less)

@misc{3054833,
abstract = {Energy use and energy feedback - An evaluation of Sweden’s largest
energy saving experiment at E.ON
E.ON Sverige AB is now performing Sweden’s largest energy saving experiment to
see if its customers can reduce their electricity consumption just by visualizing it.
The experiment turns to 10 000 of E.ON’s customers, having an annual consumption
exceeding 10 000 kWh. Customers are equipped with a display, connected to the
smart meter, which shows the consumption in real time. Customers with smartphones
can also follow their consumption in their phones by using an application.
During the experiment the participants will be facing 5 different phases, with a
purpose to motivate savings in different ways.
Parallel with the experiment a scientific study is taking place at the Department
of Energy Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University. The study is divided
into two Master´s thesis. The purpose of the study is to investigate if the energy
consumption in Swedish households can be affected by making it visual to its users.
For example, is it possible to make savings by setting up a target for the reduction?
This is the first of two reports with the purpose to give a theoretical platform for
the evaluation and also examine the preconditions and the participant’s comments
on the equipment. This report is divided in two parts.
The first part is a literature study that starts with the chapter about the use
of energy in small houses. Here is the direct and indirect energy use described in
four different function areas. The following chapter describes feedback related to
energy use and in which ways this can be given. Results from previous studies are
also presented showing that energy savings between 5 to 12 % is the most common.
There are also examples showing that savings up to 20 % are possible. Factors
affecting our behavior are described in the chapter about behavior change. A couple
of models used to explain behaviors are also presented in the same chapter. The
last chapter in the first part is about energy saving advices.
The second part of the report contains results from the two surveys that have
been made. The first one was distributed to the 7 457 participants that, by the time
of the survey, had installed the equipment. The rate of response was 65.6 %. The
main part of the respondents was male with a high interest for technology. They
v
vi
were also more interested in saving money instead of the environment. The few
females that participated thought that the environment was more important than
their interest for technology but saving money was the most important reason. Most
of the respondents thought that they had good knowledge of their consumption.
Despite that, 21 % answered that their consumption was lower than the limit of
minimum 10 000 kWh per year for participation in the experiment. The conclusion
that was made from this was that the participants overrated their own knowledge
and underrated the consumption. Most of the respondents put a lot of effort in
putting up their target for reducing energy. The mean value of the target for energy
reduction was 8 %, which they thought was something between easy and difficult.
The purpose of the second survey was to analyze the respondent’s thoughts
about the display. The survey was sent out to 9 859 and the rate of response was
30 %. One important conclusion was that the display was seen as a valuable tool for
energy savings. Respondent’s that use the display more than once per day was more
able to see that they could save electricity. They were also more convinced that they
would achieve their targets. The interest for further functions in the display was also
analyzed. The respondent’s thought that they should be able to see the difference
in consumption between today and yesterday. They also thought that the display
should show the consumption, day by day, during the last week. At the moment,
there is a relatively week interest in paying for the service but it will increase if the
service was working properly.},
author = {Andersson, Johan and Larsson, Peter},
issn = {0282-1990},
keyword = {energisparexperiment energianvändning energifeedback},
language = {swe},
note = {Student Paper},
title = {Energianvändning och energifeedback - Utvärdering av Sveriges största energisparexperiment på E.On etapp 1},
year = {2012},
}